She's never seen him so incandescently furious. (Nor so struck, though he quickly buries it; in the background, the guards look uncomfortable or unhappy, some outright pale.)

"You will not be imprisoned long, daughter. A blink to ones like us. Now go where you are commanded."

She curtsies in the most childlike fashion she can muster.

"As you say, papa. Will you ask mama to tell me a bedtime story?" And she turns and scales the tree-ladder before he can respond.

The tree ladder is removed after she's up, and she's coldly informed that there will be a guard in ear shot at all times, and she can call down if she needs supplies.

Thingol leaves without waiting for a response.

Not that she had anything left to say to him.

She explores the rooms to see what's been left to her.

Some clothes - comfortable but entirely impractical, ones she hasn't worn in a long while and so no longer keeps in her rooms. Plenty of materials for projects, weaving or spinning or embroidery or painting or the like. A selection of musical instruments. Some artwork. Food and drink, enough for a week easily.

Sigh.

She starts on a project to convert the clothes to a style she favors now, humming softly under her breath. (She's going to follow through on her implicit promise to only sing sad songs while up here, but she wants the first one overheard to be... memorable. Needs to get the ideas straight first.)

The guards shift a bit over time, until there's only one at any given time. The female guard who'd been so uncomfortable at pressuring Luthien into going up into the project rooms - Thorndess - seems to be there the most frequent of them, pulling several long shifts, and she responds rather promptly to any requests.

She saves her saddest songs for when Thorndess isn't on shift.

The days wear on rather miserably.

And then one night - while Thorndess is on shift, actually, though she's not looking toward the tree and has been pacing around the room more than usual - there's a soft scrape from just above one of the windows -

And then Luthien's fiancee swings herself within.

"Beren?"

"Yes, my Ellin," she says, voice soft, a broad grin on her face. "I did say I'd return very quickly, didn't I?"

"Not fast enough, Mygwainor." Luthien flows over to sweep her into a kiss.

Kiss!!!!!!

She giggles a little. "I apologize quite thoroughly, my Lady. I shall endeavor to be much faster next time."

"Endeavor rather that there is no next time. I trust you have a plan for the pair of us to leave?"

"Several, though the easiest requires you not be afraid of heights."

"That's not a problem."

"Alright. I got in through the grates, so we'll want to follow my ropes up and out - and then up the mountain."

"I'll want to knock your guard out on my way, too, so she doesn't get in too much trouble for 'somehow' not noticing me breaking in - do you have some magical way to do that? Physically knocking elves out can be risky."

"I can send her to sleep, yes."

"Convenient. What do you need for that?"

"Just a bit of time. You should make the climb first, in case the targeting doesn't work."

"How far is your range? I'd rather have to be carried out than fall asleep on the ropes outside."

"Up to a few hundred feet on animals."

"...Let's not risk it. I'll be out of sight before that, and you have no way of knowing when I've actually gotten out of range. I could tie myself to the rope but that'd be more awkward than if I fell asleep here and you had to carry me all the way out."

"Try to think energetic thoughts."

She goes to the trapdoor and waits for Thorndess to pass by before she starts singing at her, just loud enough for her to hear.

Thorndess sways, leaning against the tree trunk, before collapsing.